Behemoth
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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BEHEMOTH

be'-he-moth, be-he'-moth (behemoth: Job 40:15): Apparently the plural of behemah, "a beast," used of domestic or wild animals. The same form, behemoth, occurs in other passages, e.g. Deuteronomy 28:26; Deuteronomy 32:24 Isaiah 18:6 Habakkuk 2:17, where it is not rendered "behemoth" but "beasts." According to some, the word behemoth, occurring in Job 40:15, is not a Hebrew word, the plural of behemah, but a word of Egyptian origin signifying "water ox." This etymology is denied by Cheyne and others. The word has by various writers been understood to mean rhinoceros and elephant, but the description (Job 40:15-24) applies on the whole very well to the hippopotamus (Hippopotamus arnphibius) which inhabits the Nile and other rivers of Africa. Especially applicable are the references to its great size, its eating grass, the difficulty with which weapons penetrate its hide, and its frequenting of streams. "He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen. The lotus-trees cover him with their shade; The willows of the brook compass him about." The remains of a fossil hippopotamus of apparently the same species are found over most of Europe, so that it may have inhabited Palestine in early historical times, although we have no record of it. There is a smaller living species in west Africa, and there are several other fossil species in Europe and India. The remains of Hippopotamus minutus have been found in enormous quantities in caves in Malta and Sicily.

For an elaborate explanation of behemoth and leviathan (which see) as mythical creatures, see Cheyne, EB, under the word

Alfred Ely Day

Strong's Hebrew
930. Behemoth -- a kind of animal
... 929, 930. Behemoth. 931 . a kind of animal. Transliteration: Behemoth Phonetic
Spelling: (be-hay-mohth') Short Definition: Behemoth. Word Origin probably pl ...
/hebrew/930.htm - 6k
Library

The Tenth Commandment
... Give, give.' Proverbs 30:15. Or like behemoth, He trusteth that he can draw
up Jordan into his mouth.' Job 40:23. The other word is ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 1 the tenth commandment.htm

Index.
... Baruch: Book of, [60]132 f., [61]137. Beast, the, [62]261. Behemoth, [63]155. Beliar,
[64]22, [65]168, [66]249, [67]334; [68]337. Benjamin, [69]176. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/index 2.htm

The Power of the Holy Ghost
... As for Leviathan, who so maketh the sea to boil like a pot, that one would think
the deep were hoary; as for Behemoth, who drinketh up Jordan at a draught, and ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/the power of the holy.htm

Against vigilantius.
... Job, in mystic language, describes Leviathan and Behemoth; Cerberus and the birds
of Stymphalus, the Erymanthian boar and the Nemean lion, the Chimæra and the ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/against vigilantius.htm

In this Diagram were Described Ten Circles, Distinct from Each ...
... all things! We observed, also, in the diagram, the being named "Behemoth,"
placed as it were under the lowest circle. The inventor ...
/.../origen/origen against celsus/chapter xxv in this diagram.htm

Whether at the Coming Judgment the Angels Will be Judged?
... Objection 2: Further, it is written concerning Behemoth or Leviathan, whereby the
devil is signified (Job 40:28): "In the sight of all he shall be cast down ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether at the coming judgment.htm

But the Devil, who Hates and Envies what is Good...
... Footnotes: [999] Job 40:16 (v. 11, LXX): the descriptions of behemoth and
leviathan are allegorically referred to Satan, cf. Orat. ...
/.../athanasius/select works and letters or athanasius/life of antony section 5.htm

False Profession.
... It is said of Behemoth, that "he moveth his tail like a cedar." Job 40:17.
Behemoth is a type of the devil; but behold how he handleth ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bunyan/the riches of bunyan/xx false profession.htm

Almighty.
... In this description of Behemoth the Septuagint differs much from the Hebrew,
which is thus rendered in our English Versions, xl. ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/lecture viii almighty.htm

Letter vii. To Chromatius, Jovinus, and Eusebius.
... [101] Revelation 10:9, 10. [102] John 11:43. [103] Jeremiah 13:4, 5. [104] Job
40:16 (said of Behemoth); cf. Letter XXII. 11. [105] Psalm 139:13. ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter vii to chromatius jovinus.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Behemoth

beasts

Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Job 40:15-24). Some have supposed this to be an Egyptian word meaning a "water-ox." The Revised Version has here in the margin "hippopotamus," which is probably the correct rendering of the word. The word occurs frequently in Scripture, but, except here, always as a common name, and translated "beast" or "cattle."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(n.) A huge animal or creation.
Thesaurus
Behemoth (1 Occurrence)
...BEHEMOTH. be'-he-moth, be-he'-moth (behemoth: Job 40:15): Apparently the plural
of behemah, "a beast," used of domestic or wild animals. ...
/b/behemoth.htm - 9k

Leviathan (5 Occurrences)
... For a discussion of the behemoth and leviathan as mythical creatures, see EB, under
the word "Behemoth" and "Leviathan." The points in the description which ...
/l/leviathan.htm - 10k

Be'hemoth (1 Occurrence)
Be'hemoth. Behemoth, Be'hemoth. Behind . Multi-Version Concordance Be'hemoth
(1 Occurrence). Job 40:15 "See now, behemoth, which I made as well as you. ...
/b/be'hemoth.htm - 6k

Zoology
... Marten (sv CAT) (e) Ursidae, Bear UNGULATA: (a) Odd-toed: Horse, Ass, Mule, Rhinoceros
(b) Even-toed non-ruminants: Swine, Hippopotamus (Behemoth) (c) Ruminants ...
/z/zoology.htm - 18k

Hippopotamus
... It is supposed to be the behemoth of the Bible. Called also zeekoe, and river horse. ...
HIPPOPOTAMUS. hip-o-pot'-a-mus (Job 41:1 margin). See BEHEMOTH. ...
/h/hippopotamus.htm - 7k

Navel (4 Occurrences)
... instead of shorrekha, sherekha equals she'erkha, "thy flesh")): The King James Version
translates the Hebrew sharir in the description of Behemoth (Job 40:16 ...
/n/navel.htm - 9k

Lotus (2 Occurrences)
... lo'-tus (tse'elim; the King James Version shady trees): The trees under which behemoth
(the "hippopotams") rests; "He lieth under the lotus-trees," "The lotus ...
/l/lotus.htm - 8k

Loins (72 Occurrences)
... They represent various modes of expressing the loins as the seat of strength and
vigor (Job 40:16, Hebrew mothen, here used of Behemoth), the center of ...
/l/loins.htm - 33k

Ivory (13 Occurrences)
... and thirty strong men, that fought upon them, beside the Indian that ruled him."
In Job 40:15, the King James Version margin has for "behemoth," "the elephant ...
/i/ivory.htm - 17k

Feeds (14 Occurrences)
... broken as a tree. (See NAS). Job 40:15 "See now, behemoth, which I made as
well as you. He eats grass as an ox. (See NIV). Psalms 80:13 ...
/f/feeds.htm - 10k

Bible Concordance
Behemoth (1 Occurrence)

Job 40:15 "See now, behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Behemoth

Behemoth: An Amphibious Animal

Related Terms

Leviathan (5 Occurrences)

Be'hemoth (1 Occurrence)

Zoology

Hippopotamus

Navel (4 Occurrences)

Lotus (2 Occurrences)

Loins (72 Occurrences)

Ivory (13 Occurrences)

Feeds (14 Occurrences)

Trees (179 Occurrences)

Marsh (4 Occurrences)

Sinew (2 Occurrences)

Nightmonster

Night-monster

Beheld (95 Occurrences)

Eats (57 Occurrences)

Parousia

Eateth (81 Occurrences)

Grass (92 Occurrences)

Elephant

Apocalyptic

Literature (2 Occurrences)

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